Dear Journal- Unintelligible

Dear Journal,

Whew, it's been a while. But what's been going on the last few days really calls for a journal entry.

So one of my friends has a couple of really cute boys, one being about 9 months older than Everett. I read her blog religiously and I remember her talking about the 'terrible two's' and how her little guy would through some very unintelligible fits. I always assumed that surely there had to be something that he was upset about.

But then Everett turned two on Sunday and every day since he's kind-of been a nightmare. I know that's only 3.5 days ago, but HOLY CRAZY! He changed so fast.

When I was thinking about Everett and his interests/capabilities, I kept thinking about how enjoyable he was and lovely the last few months have been. And then I ate my words. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've decided that mothering Everett is like being on a roller coaster. The Extreme Scream, actually.

The last few days have been jam packed with very unintelligible tantrums and fits. (Like he's throwing a fit and you pick him up in an attempts to comfort him or figure out the problem and it's just arms and legs and tears flying everywhere) We seriously have no idea why he is acting the way he is.   Not. a. clue. (other than his age)  Then I remembered my friend and the way she described her little guy's fits; she is right. For no reason at all he just goes crazy. If there is a reason, it's a very, very tiny/unimportant reason.

Today was his 2 year checkup at the Dr's office.

His pediatrician said that it was time to start taking away the pacifier. I agreed with him but deep down I was thinking.... YES! let's take away the only thing that helps my child's monstrous behavior become tolerable, especially in public. So I'm kind-of preparing for the next few weeks and months to be disastrous.

Hmmmm, more like double disastrous. With a cherry on top.

He's also learned how to manipulate us already. Like not eating lunch or dinner and then putting him down for a nap or bed and he all of a sudden acts hungry. The we take him to the kitchen and he gets down and runs to his toys or the couch and turns on the TV. But after two days of that I caught on to his little scheme. It's amazing how smart but volatile a little one can be!

I took him to the mall after the Dr's office to let him play on the toys. I asked him if he wanted to ride in the stroller and... what do you know?! he broke down in the parking lot! So I carried him. We got to the toys, took off his shoes... BREAK DOWN. So I took him aside, put his shoes on, and then we started to walk around the mall. The train (that kids/parents can pay to ride on) is coming near us (seriously, like 40ft away) and he FREAKED OUT! Like, not a little bit...turns and runs the opposite direction while screaming/crying. Then we get to the little section where you can pay quarters to ride the little machine toys and... yes, you guessed it.

And the saddest part is that Jake and I just saw a commercial the other day for Cars Land that is opening at California Adventures in June. We thought about taking him for Christmas but I threw those plans right out the window today. If he won't even get near the 50 cent ride, there's no way we're paying a heck of a lot more for the same outcome.

I guess the silver lining in all of this is that these are "normal" behaviors for his age. Ugh. Wish us luck as we ride out the storms ahead of us!

~Tyrell

Two Big

Everett loves Cars, so I made him a Cars cake for his birthday. 

I love his cake almost as much as I love him!

Okay, not really. 

But I think it's AWESOME!

On his actual birthday we Skyped with part of my family in CO. 

We sang him happy birthday but he just wasn't feeling well. 

Last night he was feeling a little better, so we tried again. 

We lit the candles...

Apparently he hates fire. 

But loved his presents!

Everett loves Lightning McQueen and LOVES Mater, so I took him down the Cars aisle at Target. I showed him the Mater toy and he kept reaching past it to something else. So I gave him Lightning McQueen. He shook his head no. So I let him pick out what he wanted. And this was it:

(It was 3 weeks ago, so I think he'd forgotten)

The double decker bus from Car 2

He drove over every other present with his bus before opening it. And then after!

He'd also picked out some matchbox cars a few weeks ago. 

Then Jake and I gave him the gift we picked out. 

He's actually been driving his double decker bus through the barn too. 

He's such a funny kid. 

It's crazy to see how much he's grown in a year!

We love it though.

We wouldn't reverse a year for anything. 

He's so much more fun and enjoyable and we love watching him grow and develop his interests. 

Happy Birthday little boy Everett!

Two Year Old Everett

The little guy is two. 

Here's what he's like:

LOVES water. Mostly water outside. He's graduated from the bathtub.

There has only been one day this whole year so far when it's been warm enough for the baby pool. I filled it up that morning and let the sun warm the water. Then around 4 o'clock it was warm enough to play in. He had a blast and I felt like the best mom ever!

He also still likes bike rides and stroller rides. And he's been attached to Jeffery the Giraffe lately. 

He cries in the car if he doesn't have his pacifier. He also loves to stick his hand out the window. 

He is very much into the little cars...

His eye hand coordination is very good. Along with his visual spacial skills. Which is probably why he enjoys puzzles and things with small parts. 

He can still build a wicked tall tower

And he still makes the best faces

He's a mighty picky eater.

He recently decided that he hates chicken nuggets too. 

We are pretty much down to sugar...

... pretzels ... 

... crunchy granola bars and crackers.  

I finally figured him out the other day. 

He was eating Life cereal, and after a few bites he starting spitting it out. After a few mornings of this I realized that he is a man of texture. Crunchy is his one and only. If it's not crunchy, he probably won't eat it. 

SOMETIMES he will eat frozen things (like blueberries because they are a little crunchy) but it's hit or miss. 

Despite his pickiness, he's still growing... and growing out of most of his clothes. 

So I finally bought some clothes for him the other day... and he wanted to wear all of them at once. 

He went to tumbling tots last month. He really liked running around but had a hard time 'stretching' and listening and following any sort of direction. But he's two and I just wanted him to have fun, not learn somersaults. 

He's VERY into his pacifier. More so now than before. 

Covers his ears when there is any loud noise. Even the microwave!

Of course, he still loves trains. (And a toy horse that my sister gave him.)

He really, really likes cartoons and movies. He's been watching a lot of it lately.
I think we're both extremely ready for it to be consistently nice outside.
We've run out of ideas to occupy our time... so I'm okay with the TV.
Just last week he discovered Jungle Junction at the gym (it's a cartoon) and I found one episode on TV so I recorded it. He's watched it at least 25 times. Other than that, he likes Mickey Mouse, Thomas, Chuggington, and Super Why. The only movies we own are Cars 1 & 2, Rio, Tangled, and The Lion King and he watches them all.
He dances to the music on the shows... he even starts to dance when he knows the music is about to start.

He is very timid and shy. Unless you try to steal his toy.
He's quiet in public, unless he's crying for something he can't have.
He sleeps well and goes to bed without crying 90% of the time.
He gets a surge of energy when Jake comes home and it's endearing to watch them play.
It's the most adorable thing in the whole world to hear him play and make car/animal noises.
He really enjoys coloring. A lot.
He's very sensitive. Like his parents.
He's also very cautious. Especially with new things.
He loves to push us over and then help us back up. He loves roughhousing.

That's our little boy. We love him so much!